NO HAMMER. NO PROBLEM. After being imprisoned by a fire demon, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learns that Asgard is about to be destroyed and the one responsible will be his sister, Odin’s firstborn, Hela (Cate Blanchett). The third film in the franchise has Thor and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) colliding on a faraway planet and then teaming … Continue reading Thor: Ragnarok
SOME PEOPLE CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER. In 1952, Patricia Highsmith was known as a mystery writer, having written a now-classic novel called “Strangers on a Train”, which had been filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. Her fans expected crime fiction, which is partly why Highsmith’s next novel was released under a pseudonym – and by … Continue reading Carol: The Price of Love
A few years after the events of the first movie, Hiccup and his village are drawn into a battle against a conqueror who knows how to trap and control dragons. A sequel just as ambitious as the first entry. We follow Hiccup as he transitions into adulthood and its responsibilities and challenges at the same … Continue reading How to Train Your Dragon 2
This adaptation of the old fairy tale was made by Disney and is heavily inspired by their 1950 animated version. The story of the orphaned girl (Lily James) who is mistreated by her wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett), but gets a magical shot at wooing Prince Charming is girlishly romantic and fun for kids. Handsomely mounted, … Continue reading Cinderella
THE DEFINING CHAPTER. The dragon Smaug flies to Esgaroth to destroy the town, but greater challenges await in the shape of a coming battle for Lonely Mountain. The final part of this trilogy is the shortest film Peter Jackson ever made about the Middle-Earth, but maybe that’s because it is so completely dominated by that … Continue reading The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
IT WAS THE GREATEST ART HEIST IN HISTORY. In 1943, art conservationist Frank Stokes (George Clooney) talks President Roosevelt into allowing him to form an Army unit consisting of art historians and various experts, with the task of saving as many works of art from the Nazis as possible. Based on true events, this film … Continue reading The Monuments Men
After losing everything and suffering a mental breakdown when her wealthy husband (Alec Baldwin) is sent to jail on fraud charges, Jasmine Francis (Cate Blanchett) goes to stay with her sister (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco. When Woody Allen takes on the financial crisis, he naturally sets the story in a world he knows … Continue reading Blue Jasmine
FROM THE SMALLEST BEGINNINGS COME THE GREATEST LEGENDS. Gandalf the wizard (Ian McKellen) convinces a hobbit, Bilbo (Martin Freeman), to join his party of 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim a treasure that was stolen by a mighty dragon. Set sixty years before the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson’s grand return to … Continue reading The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
When King Richard the Lionheart is killed during a battle in France in 1199, the archer Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) and his closest men return to England disguised as knights. Director Ridley Scott’s announcement that he’d make a Robin Hood movie was greeted with skepticism. This is one of cinema’s most oft-told tales… but he came … Continue reading Robin Hood
LIFE ISN’T MEASURED IN MINUTES, BUT IN MOMENTS. Whenever you watch a film by David Fincher, you expect a dark thriller that grabs you by the throat. That’s what built his career. But not this time. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fleshed-out take on an F. Scott Fitzgerald novella that looks like something Tim … Continue reading Benjamin Button: Living Counter-Clockwise
BIG COPS. SMALL TOWN. MODERATE VIOLENCE. Super cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is so good that he’s making the rest of the Met look bad; he’s transferred to a sleepy village where he stumbles upon a vast murder conspiracy. The Edgar Wright-Pegg duo followed up on their hit Shaun of the Dead (2004) with another largely hilarious comedy. … Continue reading Hot Fuzz
In 1957, Indy (Harrison Ford) and his old buddy Mac (Ray Winstone) run into Soviet agents in Nevada where they are forced to locate a highly magnetic crate for them. The fourth Indiana Jones movie was the most anticipated cinematic event of the year. Ford may be in his 60s, the script may be silly … Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
LONELINESS CAN TURN INTO A MONSTER. When Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) is hired to teach at a London school, Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), a lonely, older colleague, is enchanted and plans to keep her for herself. Is it even possible to fail with a dynamite cast like this and a multi-layered, frightening script by Patrick … Continue reading Notes on a Scandal
